By Musa Ibrahim
Nigeria will require about N60 trillion to bridge its housing deficit, as the federal government and private-sector partners deepen efforts to expand access to affordable mortgages and increase housing supply across the country.
The National Coordinator of the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF), Mr. Sani Yakubu, disclosed this last Wednesday during a webinar organised by FirstBank of Nigeria Ltd.
The webinar, themed ‘Beyond Rent: The Path to Home Ownership Leveraging FirstBank-MREIF Home Loan Scheme to Build Long-Term Wealth,’ focused on how long-term mortgage financing can help more Nigerians transition from renting to home ownership.
Mr. Yakubu said Nigeria’s housing deficit had exceeded 20 million homes, while annual housing delivery remained at about 100,000 units. He noted that the country would need to increase annual housing construction to approximately 700,000 units to make significant progress in closing the gap.
The scale of the deficit, he explained, highlights the need for stronger collaboration between government, financial institutions, investors, developers and other stakeholders across the housing value chain.
MREIF was established through a public-private partnership to tackle challenges around housing affordability and supply. According to Mr. Yakubu, the fund’s first N250 billion tranche comprises N150 billion from the federal government and N100 billion from private investors.
The initial tranche forms part of the broader N1 trillion MREIF programme registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
At the heart of the initiative is the partnership with FirstBank, which is designed to improve Nigerians’ access to long-term mortgage financing for residential property acquisition.
Yakubu said the intervention was intended to catalyse the housing market without displacing existing mortgage providers, creating additional financing capacity for prospective homeowners.
Providing further insight into the scheme, the Head of Real Estate Investment at ARM Investment Managers, Mr. Olubiyi Adekunbi, said MREIF had deployed more than N140 billion to over 2,000 beneficiaries since mortgage disbursements began in April.
He said beneficiaries had accessed mortgages across 27 states, demonstrating the potential for the initiative to extend home ownership opportunities beyond major urban centres.
Under the scheme, eligible applicants can access loans of up to N100 million at an interest rate of 9.75 percent, with a maximum repayment tenure of 20 years, subject to the applicant’s retirement age.
Applicants are required to provide a minimum 10 percent equity contribution. Eligible contributors may also augment their equity contribution with up to 25 percent of their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) balance.
The scheme is open to Nigerians resident in the country and those in the diaspora, provided the property being financed has a valid registered title.
Mr. Adekunbi urged prospective beneficiaries to approach FirstBank to begin the application process and receive guidance on eligibility and documentation requirements.
For FirstBank, the initiative is positioned as a response to some of the structural barriers that have historically kept home ownership out of reach for many Nigerians.
The bank’s Head of Personal Banking, Mr. Chukwuka Okonkwo, said the partnership with MREIF would help democratise access to affordable home ownership.
According to him, the mortgage scheme addresses key challenges including affordability, access to mortgage finance, property verification and documentation.
He said FirstBank would finance completed properties with clean and verifiable titles, helping to reduce some of the risks associated with property acquisition.
Mr. Okonkwo stated that applicants must be at least 18 years old, resident in Nigeria, have a stable income and demonstrate sufficient repayment capacity.
Beyond mortgage financing, he said FirstBank was working with property developers and state housing corporations to expand the supply of affordable housing and improve access to suitable properties.
The pension industry is also playing a role in the emerging home ownership ecosystem. Mr. Olufemi Adebayo, Executive Director, Sales and Investments, Leadway Pensure PFA Ltd., said eligible pension contributors could access up to 25 percent of their RSA balance towards purchasing a home.
He said applicants must have contributed for at least five years, remain in active employment and have at least three years before retirement.
Mr. Adebayo disclosed that Leadway Pensure had processed more than 70,000 applications and disbursed over N70 billion under the initiative.
The collaboration between FirstBank and MREIF comes as Nigeria faces the dual challenge of a significant housing shortage and limited access to long-term financing.
With the estimated deficit exceeding 20 million homes, closing the gap will require not only more houses but also financing mechanisms that allow households to purchase them.
The FirstBank-MREIF partnership therefore represents an effort to connect public capital, private investment, mortgage finance and pension resources around a common objective: expanding sustainable home ownership.
